Stock Market News

TNT advert banned by ASA over Royal Mail complaint

A TNT advert was banned on Wednesday following a Royal Mail complaint over misleading information.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decided the ad should be banned as some statements in the leaflet were in breach of the code.

The advert said "every item delivered at a competitive price - not just within Manchester, but all over the UK", which the ASA ruled as misleading as TNT does not deliver to every address in the UK.

Royal Mail had complained that the ad, which compared TNT's services to its rival, was deceptive in suggesting it delivered to every address.

The London-listed firm argued that, unlike Royal Mail, TNT was not required to deliver to every address in the UK on a next-day basis. Royal Mail accused TNT of implying its service was more superior.

ASA also ruled TNT did not provide proof that its prices were competitive with Royal Mail, and the claim "change for the better" could mislead businesses.

TNT said the claim was "substantiated by service capability and the social benefits they believed the service would bring to Manchester" rather than a suggestion that their prices were cheaper.

ASA said: "We told TNT Post UK to ensure future ads did not suggest that they were subject to the same service levels as Royal Mail; that they delivered mail themselves to all parts of the UK; or that their prices were competitive in relation to those offered by Royal Mail unless they could substantiate that that was the case."

Royal Mail and TNT have been at each throats over competition in the UK for months. Earlier in the year TNT sent a complaint to Britain's Office of Communications (Ofcom) against price increases planned by Royal Mail for its wholesale mail contracts. The complaint prompted an investigation by Ofcom.

Royal Mail later called on Ofcom to review the threat that TNT's direct letters delivery service would have on its revenues.

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